Largo PQRST: Duet to the Beat of the EKG
by Corrosive Moon
Summary: At the Traverse Town Hospital, Sora has the misfortune of taking a care of Riku, a beautiful, troublesome, sexually-harassing patient. Honestly, this is supposed to be a hospital, not Match-dot-com... RikuXSora.


**For those who have been following my work, I killed _Sakura Biyori_. It was terribly written and it had to die. So I'm making it up by posting this one-shot! Yup, it's an actual one shot! And I hope you all like it!**

_**Largo**_** is a word used to describe a slow song. And **_**PQRST**_** are the curves on an EKG (electrocardiogram.) An electrocardiogram is the annoying thingy that's beeps when your heart does so that way the doctors know you're still alive.**

_Largo PQRST: Duet to the Beat of the EKG_

"Sora, we need your help with a patient," Kairi, his fellow RN, told him, pushing back a strand of her red bangs behind her ear.

Sora suspiciously looked up from his admittance papers behind the Nurse's Station counter. "Which patient?"

Kairi sighed and, with the slightest of head movements, she pointed her chin to Room 234.

Sora took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. "What's he doing this time?"

"Refusing to have his bandages changed by anyone else except you."

The brunette sighed again. "Sorry, Sora," Kairi said.

"It's fine." He stood up and placed a sedative in his shirt pocket before straightening out his nurse's uniform.

"What's that for?"

"Just in case." Sora winked.

"Chemical restraints must be ordered by a doc—"

"Sexual harassment is a very big issue in this hospital, Kairi." The brunette said nonchalantly as he made his way to the dreaded room. As per what they had drilled into him in nursing school, Sora courteously knocked before he entered.

"Hey, Sora!"

A young man, about twenty-four years of age (which made him two years older than Sora), was beaming back at him, obviously proud to see him. He had been brought two days ago after being hit by a car. His eyes were a bright, mischievous turquoise, his skin a creamy white and his hair an unusual, stunning silver. The front of his bed had been raised up and his left leg was casted and elevated by two pillows. Bandages were wrapped around his head, due to a concussion, and heavily around his right arm. All in all, his injuries were not so bad (considering all the car accidents Sora had seen and heard of) and the nurse did not expect the hospital to hold him for much longer.

"Mr. Yoru—" Sora began.

"Riku," the silver-haired man corrected.

"Riku," the brunette corrected. "Mind telling me why you're being an idiot?"

"I find that offensive," Riku said, pretending to be in shock. "As a nurse, it is your proud duty to insure that I, the patient, am as comfortable and stressfree as possible. It is solely by an odd twist of fate that I am most comfortable and stressfree around you."

Sora sighed and walked to the side of the Riku's bed. When Riku had been first brought in, the brunette had thought he was beautiful, even as he was barely breathing, unconscious, covered in blood, lacerations and excoriations and hooked to IVs and oxygen tanks.

That all changed when Riku woke up. Sure, his sly, wicked smile nearly made Sora swoon, but the silver-haired man's strange attachment to the nurse proved to be more irritating than originally thought. Riku constantly asked for Sora to personally handle him, no matter how much of an inconvenience it would be for the brunette nurse. He grabbed Sora's ass on occasion and if any other nurse or CNAs tried to approach him, he would adamantly refuse treatment or kick (with his good leg) and bite them savagely if they tried to proceed. Within six short hours, all of the second floor's CNAs dreaded going--or being around--the room. If the call light to Riku's room went off, all assistive personal and nurses suddenly became occupied, bustled purposefully out of the nursing station and leave Sora to take the call.

**[CNA: Certified Nurses Assistant]**

"Give me your arm," The brunette said rudely as he pulled a chair underneath him and sat.

Grinning, Riku extended his right arm to him—the tips of his fingers, which barely protruded from the bandages squirming with delight--and Sora grabbed his wrist.

"Ow, not so hard," Riku complained, though his face didn't look like he was hurting.

"Your bandages need to be changed periodically to keep your wounds clean," Sora said, eyeing Riku's free arm warily. "I can't keep doing this. I _do_ have other patients to care for. Let the CNAs take care of you. I'm not coming again, Riku."

The bandages were removed, revealing a pale arm with scratches and scrapes. Sora assessed the arm. The scratches were minor, it was mostly the large scuff that concerned him the most, which the nurse figured Riku had gotten as his arm scraped across the pavement when the car hit him. The brunette examined the hand, it was fine, grazed a little, but nothing as bad as the arm. Sora glanced at Riku's left arm, which had a few minor scratches on its own, but it none bad enough to warrant extensive wound care. The arm appeared to be fine, no infections.

Sora tossed the dirty bandages into a waste basket. He saw a role of bandages that Kairi had probably put out on the side table and took them.

"Not even if I fall from the bed? I, a crippled patient in hideous agony?"

"I'll just leave you there to wiggle around and die," Sora said smartly.

"No, you won't. I can practically_—_" Riku hissed as Sora covered a particularly nasty scrape with a new bandage, "--_palpate_ how deeply you care for your patients. And I happily fall into that category as well. No pun intended."

"You're vocabulary's quite extensive for a homeless bum." The nurse picked another trait to tease to give Riku no time to revel in how right he was.

"I'm homeless, not stupid."

"And yet you weren't smart enough to look both ways before crossing the street?" Sora smiled when he saw his patient frown.

"That car came out of nowhere," Riku snapped. "And I bet the driver was texting. Or drunk. " The brunette giggled. He finished up the bandages nicely. Sitting up from his chair, Sora undid the bandages around Riku's head.

"Your x-rays just came back," Sora said. "No brain hemorrhaging. And—_don't even think about it_." The brunette shot Riku a dirty glare as his intuition felt the patient's good hand slowly making its way towards his rear end. Sighing, Riku let his hand fall back onto the bed.

Sora continued. "And tomorrow morning the nurses, I mean 'I'…" The nurse added lowly as he reached over behind Riku's head and the silver-haired man gladly bowed his head to ease Sora's work, "…need to teach you how to use crutches."

"Mm," Riku agreed, nodding a little. He shut his eyes and basked in the happiness of being close to the brunette.

When Sora was done, he stepped back. "All right," he said, putting some hand sanitizer into his hands and rubbing them together. Though he dreaded to say what he had to say next, he said it anyway. "Is there anything else you need?"

"S—"

"Other than sex. Or any sexual favors for that matter."

Riku leaned his head back, thinking contently.

"I haven't bathed since I got here. I think it's time for a bath."

"That's CNA work," Sora grumbled, absolutely hating the idea of bathing Riku at all.

"If you can get a CNA to bathe me, that is." Riku retorted smartly. "Hmm, what about that lovely girl I bit? What was her name again? Selphie?" A sly smile crept to Riku's face. Sora felt his cheeks flare.

"I'll be back…" he said through gritted teeth. Sora went into the linen closet to get two bath blankets, four wash cloths, four towels, two basins and a bottle of soap.

When he returned to Riku's room, he set the towels and washcloths on the stand and went to fill one of the basins with warm water at the sink.

"Is there any specific soap you want?" Sora asked.

"Nope," the silver-haired man answered.

The brunette set the basin on the stand and quickly threw the bath blanket on top of Riku's comforter.

"Lift your head up," Sora said flatly.

The silver-haired man grinned as he did. Sora reached behind his neck and undid the patient gown's tie. Gripping the collar of Riku's gown and comforter, Sora swiftly yanked them from underneath the bath blanket without managing to take the bath blanket with it. The nurse deftly rolled the clothing into a ball and tossed it into dirty linen cart outside the room.

Sora donned gloves and tested the water again. It was still warm. He squeezed the soap into the water and swirled it around with his hand. Then the nurse wrapped one of the washcloths around his hand like a mitten and dipped it into the water. He turned towards Riku, who tilted his head back.

"Bath me!" he said, happily.

The brunette sighed and got closer to dab his eye with a corner of the washcloth. He continued systematically. The head, then moving to the neck, arms, torsos, abdomen, legs and finally feet. Bathing the bodypart in soapy water, rinsing with regular water and then drying it off with one of the towels. Sora tried hard not to marvel at Riku's milky skin as he bathed him. He couldn't help but feel suddenly conscious of his own skin and wishing it was fine as his patient's.

"I can't turn you on your side to bath your back with your leg like that so I'll need you to sit up as much as you can," Sora said.

Riku sat up as best he could. "And what about… you know… down there?" The patient looked down between his legs.

The nurse turned bright red. "You can move your left arm well enough to do it yourself." He turned to change the water.

"Oh no! My arm has suddenly gone numb!" The silver-haired man said dramatically.

"No, it hasn't," Sora said as he set the basin with new water on the stand.

"How can you possibly tell? It's completely subject—"

Sora pinched his left arm hard.

"_OW!_"

"Numb, huh?" The nurse said, chuckling.

"That was battery! I should report you!" Riku said, jutting his lip out into a surprisingly sexy pout. Sora had to lock his knees in place to keep from falling over at its power.

Shaking off the charm after a few moments, the brunette handed the second washcloth to Riku, who took it with bitter disappointment.

Sora looked away as he waited for Riku to wash himself and carefully took the wet cloth from him when he was done.

The nurse took the other basin he had brought and filled it with water.

"Next, I'm going to wash your hair," he told Riku as he brought the basin back. "Here." Sora handed him another clean gown.

"Will you dress me?" Riku asked with a crooked grin.

"No."

The patient held his grin as he took the gown from Sora and placed it on. The brunette carefully focused on a spot on the ceiling in case Riku decided to try and flash him. The silver-haired man then gleefully allowed Sora to take the pillow from underneath him and place a towel and the other basin in its place.

"Did you bring any shampoo that you wanted to use?" The brunette asked as he placed the third washcloth at the rim of the basin underneath Riku's neck as a cushine.

"No," Riku answered, letting his head fall back.

"All right then." Sora squeezed some shampoo onto Riku's hair.

Riku nodded and let the nurse work the hair product into a lather. He sighed happily and shut his eyes, and again Sora felt his legs nearly melt at how utterly _gorgeous_ the silver-haired man looked at ease.

The brunette nodded and thought of something to say.

"So what do you do on the streets? Sell newspapers?"

Riku's eyes opened and he frowned at Sora. "Absolutely not!" he said, clearly offended. "I play guitar on the corner of Jazz and Lily."

"So you're a street musician."

"Currently, no. My guitar was totaled in the accident."

"Ooh, that sucks." The nurse grimaced.

"I know…" Riku agreed sadly.

"Are you planning on getting another one?"

"Kind of. But I'm opting for gluing back the shattered wood pieces from the pavement since I'm, you know, financially underprivileged."

Sora laughed and a triumphant grinned settled on Riku's face.

"Hey, I made you laugh," the silver-haired man said.

"Don't get too excited," Sora advised.

"You and I are becoming more and more like friends, how can I not? And then eventually we'll get closer and closer together and then you'll go out with me!"

"_That_ confident, huh?"

"Yup," Riku chirped.

"Are you even sure I'm gay?"

"I'm positive!"

"Oh? And what led you to that conclusion?"

"Well, since I'm mostly lying here on this bed, my best form of entertainment is watching the TV," Riku glanced up at the TV in his room, "or watching other people outside the room." The silver-haired man then looked to the door. "And I notice a lot of things. Like how that redheaded nurse, Kairi, _always_ wears a short skirt and a lowcut V-neck that _barely_ passes uniform regulations and how all the male staff _always_ looks intently at her rear end or breasts when they think she's not looking. _And_ out of all the twelve male hospital staff I have observed, you're the only one that looks at her face when you're talking to her."

"Huh, so I respect my female co-workers and therefore I'm a homosexual?"

"You stare at me sometimes, when you think_ I'm_ not looking."

"You're pretty beautiful, Riku, I can't help it."

"The girls don't stare at me as long as you. And I know you don't _just _look at my face."

Sora grumbled something inaudible. "All right, fine. I'm gay, happy now?"

"Naturally. I now positive I stand a chance at winning your love!"

"Hm. If I remember correctly, I think your file says you're gonna get discharged in about another two days, at most. I high doubt you'll be able to sway me in less than two days."

"True. That is a problem," Riku tilted his head to one side. "I suppose I can get into another car accident and end up here again!"

"Oh no, you're not." Sora shook his head and glared down at him as he rinsed Riku's hair thoroughly.

"It's not exactly impossible for me to get into _another_ car accident considering I live on the streets _and _I'm _crippled_." The silver-haired man wiggled the toes of his bad left leg for accentuation. "I mean, if I could get hit as a mobile individual with _two_ legs, can you imagine the catastrophe that would happen now that I only have _one_ for the next…?" Riku looked up at Sora.

"Six weeks," the brunette finished.

"Six weeks!" Riku exclaimed in anguish. "That's almost enough to drive anyone mad!"

"Your grammer's pretty… snooty," Sora commented.

"_Snooty?_"

"You talk like you're a rich snob or something," the nurse clarified.

"The proper verb is 'speak,' but yes, I agree with you."

"Did you go to an Ivy League school like Twilight Town University or Radiant Garden University or something?"

"Would I really be playing for dollars on the corner of Jazz and Lily if I had gone to Radiant Garden University?" Riku raised a brow.

"Ah. Good point."

"What school did you go to?" the patient asked.

"Destiny Islands Academy."

"Ah, they've got a good nursing program over there."

Sora nodded. "That's why I went."

Riku looked at him, and Sora fought to keep from losing himself in his turquoise gaze. For what seemed like the longest time, the silver-haired man said nothing and then he turned away and looked to the ceiling.

Sora dried Riku's hair with the towel, then he was done, he combed his patient's hair. He was happy that Riku had been compliant and non-harassing—

"Gah!" Sora leaped back, clutching his rear end protectively while Riku laughed.

"Will you _stop_ molesting me!?" the nurse demanded. "You were acting like such a perfect gentleman and everything and then you had to go and… and grope me!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Riku said between his laughs. "But I try to molest you at least every half-hour to show that I am still attracted to you. Just in case you forget." The silver-haired man shrugged.

"My butt feels like a pincushine. I'm not happy. I dislike your sicko-sadist public displays of affection," Sora said flatly. "And I know that asking you to stop would completely worthless, so I'll make you a deal."

"A deal?" Riku's eyes lit up. "Like what?"

"If you promise to stop sexually harassing me for the rest of your stay, I'll…"

"…go out with me?" The silver-haired man finished hopefully. "Or we can have sex. Whichever you want to start with first, but I approve of the latter mostly."

"I'll buy you a new guitar." Sora crossed his arms.

Riku perked up instantly. "A new guitar? Seriously?"

"Seriously." The nurse nodded.

"A Takamine guitar?" The patient pushed himself up on his elbows, excited and eyes dazzling. He began speaking faster. "Two-thousand ten limited edition, six string, acoustic-electric with a solid spruce top, kimono cloth inlays, solid rosewood back and an ebony fingerboard?"

"Uh, sure," Sora agreed, though he hardly caught any of what Riku said.

"Great! You promise, right?"

"Yeah, Riku. I promise I'll get you that…" What in the world did Riku say it was? "…that guitar."

"Cross you heart, hope to die?"

"Stick a needle in my eye," Sora added.

"Shake your booty till you die?"

The brunette raised a curious brow. "Yeah."

"Okay!" Riku lied down. "I shall be an exemplary patient for the duration of my stay!"

"Well good, then!" Sora said, quite happy with himself, though a small part inside him felt that his wallet would regret this deal. "So! Is there anything else you need, Riku?"

"No, I think that's all for now," Riku said, beaming. "Thank you, Sora."

"You're welcome, Riku." The brunette left the room. "Just press the call light if you need me."

* * *

[2:12 PM, same day]

"Riku, how are you doing?" Sora asked as he went into the room.

"Fine, Sora," Riku said pleasantly as he sat up.

"Well, I'm here to take your vital signs, so I'm going to start with temperature first." Sora towed the *Dinamap machine to his side and took the thermometer from the top and slid a sheath on it.

**[*Dinamap. By 'Dinamap' I mean those fancy blood-pressure/thermometer machines that you can wheel around in the hospital. In the hospital I volunteer at, they call them 'Dinamap.']**

"Open your mouth, please," the nurse asked, casting a wary glance of Riku's left arm (his good arm.)

Riku did obediently and Sora slid the thermometer underneath his tongue. The brunette held the thermometer the silver-haired man's mouth until the Dinamap began to beep.

"Ninety-eight point six," Sora nodded approvingly. "That's very good. With any luck, you'll be out of here by tomorrow evening maybe."

The patient's brow furrowed a little in disappointment at the thought of being separated from Sora earlier than expected, but he didn't say anything.

"All right, now I'll take your pulse and respirations." Sora took his stethoscope from around his neck. "I'll have to take your apical pulse since it's the most accurate so if you could please remove the left half of your gown."

"Sure."

Then the brunette moved to counting Riku's respirations per minute, then his blood pressure.

Pulse: 76 beats per minute. 20 respirations. Blood pressure is 122/78.

"Your vitals are very good," Sora commented. "Well, that's all for now. Is there anything else you need?"

"Nope. I'm fine."

"Good. Just call if you need me."

* * *

'What is he planning?' Sora thought, his chin propped on his elbows. 'No, he can't be thinking of doing much… not with his leg and arm like that… so…'

The brunette let his forehead fall onto the counter of the nurse's station.

'WHY DO I FEEL SO UNEASY!?' Feeling so threatened by a crippled, pretty patient! The wretched disgracefulness of it all was so unfathomable Sora could barely contain the impulse to run into Riku's room, leap onto his bed, circle his fingers around his throat and demand the patient to tell him what he wanted.

'_I've got it…_' Sora lifted his head with a dangerous look in his eye. 'I'll sedate him… That's it.' He felt for the syringe in his pocket.

'No, Sora, you can't do that!' the little voice of sanity chimed in his head. 'He's a patient! You can't do that to him!'

The brunette wanted to viciously tell the stupid voice to shut up but he had to admit that it was right. Riku was a patient. Sora sighed. Maybe he was overthinking this.

* * *

[Next day. 9:10 AM]

"Okay, to use crutches, you just put the crutches forward, and then swing your right foot after." Sora demonstrated for Riku. He placed the crutches under his arms and brought them in front of him and then he swayed his weight forward, landing on his right foot. "Got it?"

"Mm-hm," Riku nodded. He sat up from the bed and carefully dangled his legs on the side of his bed. The nurse handed the crutches to him, coming close to the silver-haired man without worry. Riku had been very well-behaved since yesterday, true to his word.

Riku gingerly grabbed the crutch with his right hand, which was still a little tender, before he tucked it under his each arm and stood up. He easily mimicked the technique Sora showed a while ago and managed to walk to the doorway.

"Good," the nurse said, nodding. "Come on, let's walk. You've been in that bed too long, right?"

"My thoughts exactly," Riku said, grinning brilliantly.

Side by side, they walked down the hallway, the crutches making a rhythmic _clack_ as they walked.

"So does this count as a semi-date?" Riku asked. "I mean, technically we're alone together. Sort of"

"Haha," Sora gave a hollow laugh. "All we're missing is the movie, the romantic ambiance and the dinner. And cake," The nurse added.

"Cake?" Riku looked at him oddly with a raised brow. "Let me guess: you've got a massive sweettooth. You were one of those kids that would've probably followed a stranger in a trenchcoat and a bowler hat as long as he had a plate of vanilla cake in his hand."

"And a fork."

"Hm. So _cake_ is how to get to you…" The patient looked to the other side thoughtfully.

"Hey!" Sora called as the corners of Riku's mouth began to turn upwards impishly. "You're supposed to be acting like a good patient!"

"Precisely. _Act, _pertaining to physical manifestations. What I keep in my head is of no importance to—and nor is it covered by— our promise." Riku lifted his head proudly. "As long as I keep whatever is in my head _internal_ there's no reason for me to contemplate… unseemly things."

Sora felt overwhelmingly uneasy and felt a change of subject was necessary.

"So did you always want to, uh, be a musician?" the nurse asked.

"You were going to say 'homeless bum,' weren't you?"

"Nuh-uh."

Of course you were…" Riku said dully. "And yes, I have always wanted to be a musician. I can't imagine myself doing anything else."

"Were you always on the streets?"

"I lived in a house until I after high school."

"What happened, if it's all right that I ask?"

"I told my dad I wanted to be a musician and he told me to study for a real job or get out."

Sora stared. And the silver-haired man had said it so off-handedly too.

Riku shrugged. "Don't worry, I thought he'd tell me something like that. So anyway, I've been around the streets since then."

"You should try getting into Atlantica University. I'm told they have a good music program there."

"I was. I had planned to save up the money I earned playing for a ticket there. For an apartment too, if I had the patience."

''Had planned,' meaning that he isn't planning anymore,' the brunette recognized.

"What happened?" he asked. Though Riku belittled the last little probe into his life, Sora did feel a little hesitant to ask for fear of hearing bringing up another bad memory for him.

"Well, a car hit me and decimated my guitar," The patient grinned. "In case you didn't notice."

The brunette giggled.

"Have you always wanted to be a nurse?" Riku asked.

Sora nodded. "Always."

"Is that so?"

"What's with that suspicious look?" The nurse asked, glaring at him.

"What suspicious look?"

"That one you're giving me! Right now!"

"It's nothing. Just a couple hunches."

"Tell me."

"You have musician's fingers. Just an observation."

"Musician's fingers?" Sora glanced down at his hands.

"They're long and slender. Like mine." Riku stopped and held out one of his hands.

The brunette raised his own hands to compare them with Riku's.

"Your fingers are longer," the nurse said. The silver-haired man's hand curled around his fingers. Sora jumped, unsure whether to push Riku off or allow him since he wasn't molesting him.

"Hm, I think you're right," Riku said, running his thumb on the underside of the brunette's fourth finger. "Oh well…"

Suddenly, the patient leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on the brunette's lips.

For about a full minute, Sora stood frozen, jaw slack, even as the silver-haired man pulled away and cocked his head to one side in curiosity. Then, he raised one hand to the brunette's face and snapped his fingers.

"WAH!" As if the reaction had been delayed, with a cry, Sora abruptly pushed the patient away from him, knocking him off balance. However, the nurse remembered that Riku was an injured patient and caught him by his left arm before he could hit the floor, but only barely.

"…Y-you're heavy…" the brunette strained as he struggled to bring Riku to his feet, or rather, foot.

"Well I didn't exactly fall over because I thought it was fun," The silver-haired man said, holding onto Sora's scrubs for balance with both hands. He hissed in pain and jerked his right arm towards him. There were spots of blood on the bandages.

"Shoot…" Sora murmured. He managed to maneuver himself to Riku's left side, threw his arm around his shoulder and another arm at his waist to keep him up.

"Maybe we'll have to give you a wheelchair," the nurse commented as they shuffled down the hallway, nurses gazing oddly at them as they go. "I don't think your injured arm's up for crutches."

"I agree," Riku said.

"You _do_ realize that you're not getting that guitar, right?"

"It was well worth it," the patient said dreamily.

Sora glared at him.

"So, since I'm no longer under the pretense of the deal, I can resume groping you, right?"

"Oh shut up, you perv—WAH!"

Riku held up his bandaged arm (which was still free) and wiggled his fingers at the brunette.

"You're evil…" Sora mumbled, red in the face.

"Why, thank you."

After, they managed to get back into Riku's room, Sora went to get a new roll of bandages. When he returned, he made sure to wash his hands before unwrapping Riku's arm.

"I don't think nothing serious really happened," Sora said after examining the silver-haired man's right arm. "I think they just got aggravated. But I'll see if I can get you wheelchair so that it'll be easier on your arm."

"Thanks," Riku said, throwing out his best smile.

"Don't think smiling will make me forgive you for that kiss," the nurse said darkly as he began wounding the new bandage around Riku's arm.

"I know," the patient said contently. "I wish I had the chance to use more tongue, though…"

"Oh God, please stop or I swear I'll strap you to this bed and gag you…"

"That sounds really kinky." A wicked smirk spread on Riku's face. "I didn't know you were like that."

"Oh my God…" Sora slapped his forehead with his palm. He frowned a millisecond later. "Now look what you did, I have to wash my hands and get new gloves again…" he grumbled.

* * *

[The next day]

"So…" Sora began with a scowl on his face. "The wheelchair is simple enough to use. The only problem is getting around because of its size and going up stairs."

"Oh, that shouldn't be too much of a problem," Riku said, moving the wheelchair back and forth. "It's not like I live in an extravagant twelve-story mansion or anything. Well, actually, if I had enough money to buy myself a mansion that large, I'd have installed an elevator."

Riku wheeled down the hallway, practicing. Sora walked behind him, at a safe distance, making sure he wouldn't hurt himself.

"By the way, you're getting discharged this afternoon," the nurse said. "I also took the liberty of renting one of the hospital's wheelchairs for you for about two weeks. That should give your arm plenty of time to heal, then we can remove the bandages and we should be able to get you on crutches."

"Sounds good," Riku said. "Will I see you again at that time?"

"I'll conveniently get sick. And as it is my _proud nursing duty_ to ensure that all my patients are comfortable, stressfree _and safe_, it is only natural that I skip the day. If I come in with a cold, God knows what will happen!" The brunette added the last part smugly.

"Oh, that's mean." The silver-haired man frowned.

"Yup," The brunette said haughtily.

"I like it." One corner of the patient's mouth quirked upwards into a lopsided grin.

Sora sighed. They rounded the corner at the southern Nurses' Station and continued following the hallway. The hallway would circled around and they would make their way back to Riku's room.

"You'll discharge me, right?" Riku asked.

"Do I even have a choice? You'll probably chew off the *volunteer's arm if she tries to get close to you…"

**[*Usually the volunteers discharge the patient, not the nurses.]**

"You know me too well."

* * *

"Good bye!" Riku waved happily at the nurses who flinched slightly behind the Nurses' Station.

Sora sighed and shook his head a little as he wheeled Riku into the elevator.

"I know you're about to leave 'n all, but please don't harass my co-workers," he said, glancing down at the silver-haired man.

"People flinching at the sight of me is an exhilarating reaction in comparison to when they used to ignore me on the streets," Riku said contently.

"Do you have someone that's coming to take you in? At least while you're in a wheelchair?"

"A friend of mine is letting me stay at his place while I'm handicapped."

"So he's going to kick you back on the streets afterwards?"

"That's what it seems like." The patient lifted his head to the nurse. "Or maybe _you_ can take me in?"

"No."

"You arrived at the conclusion so easily."

"I shudder to imagine what you'd do to me if we live under the same roof..." Sora's shoulders irked upwards at the potential consequences. "You'd probably molest me in my sleep, _at the very least,_ and raid my fridge and peek at me in the bathroom while I'm showering and hide my underwear--"

"Hide you underwear? Hm, I never thought of that..." Riku tilted his head thoughtfully, a sly little smirk spreading on his face.

"See, _that_ is why my door is not open for you, Riku."

The elevator reached the bottom floor and Sora pushed the silver-haired man off the elevator and towards the main lobby.

"You know, if you're ever around Jazz and Lily in about six weeks, you should come and hear me play," Riku said.

"Assuming you have another guitar by then," the brunette said, just to poke at the fact that Riku lost an opportunity to get good guitar.

"I'll swipe my friend, Demyx's, guitar if I need to." Riku leaned back. "I can also teach you how to play guitar if you want. We could jam out together."

Sora laughed. "With my musician's fingers, huh?"

"Yup."

They reached the entrance, where a tall redhead with bright, green eyes was waiting.

"Hey, Ax!" Riku said.

"'Sup, Riku," the redhead said.

"Sora, Axel; Axel, Sora," the silver-haired man introduced them quickly.

"Afternoon, Sora!" Axel said. He looked down at Riku and laughed a little. "Dude, what did you _do_ to yourself?"

"What did _that car_ do to me," the silver-haired man corrected. Riku looked up to the brunette.

"Don't forget to come back two weeks from now to return that wheelchair, Riku," Sora said.

"Of course," Riku said, beaming. "You'll be here, right? To take care of me?"

"No."

Axel burst out laughing. "_Burn_," he said.

Riku only smiled. "You're lying."

"Am not," the brunette retorted.

"We'll see," the silver-haired man said with a disbelieving glint in his eye. "See you later, Sora."

"See you."

Casting a final glance, Riku wheeled forward, talking with Axel as they made their way to the redhead's car.

"You look hilarious, Riku," Axel joked.

"Oh ha ha, you're such a good friend," Riku said, deadpan. "You didn't even visit me! Not even once!"

"I was busy!"

"Busy doing _Roxas,_ you mean!"

"Hey, I have to work, Riku. You know, _work_. 'Cause I have an _apartment to pay for._ Unlike _you._"

"You should be kinder to me. I was just in a horrifying car accident and now I have impaired physical mobility! I might be suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in the near future and what are you doing? Poking fun at the fact that I'm economically challenged!"

"Oh stop it, you drama queen."

* * *

[Four Days Later]

Sora leaned back in his car and sighed. From the sirens, ambulances and the police cars, the brunette deduced that an accident just happened, and though Sora threw a little sympathy towards the poor drivers and wished them the best of luck in medical recovery, _he really just wanted to get home._

The nurse remembered that there was a newspaper vendor here and decided that he might as well get some reading material as he waited. Sora searched for the newspaper vendor—

His mouth dropped open.

There was Riku, a stack of newspapers on his lap and holding one up in his hand.

Before he could stop himself, Sora honked at him, signaling he wanted a newspaper. Riku jumped (from his chair) in surprise and then, after squinting his eyes, recognized who exactly just called him over and eagerly wheeled to Sora's car.

"Hey," he said, leaning as far as he could to the brunette, and grinning broadly.

"What are you doing here?" Sora asked.

"Selling newspapers, obviously," Riku said, handing out a roll of newspaper to Sora, who took it and placed money in the silver-haired man's hand. "I figured I might as well do _something_ while my arm and leg are like this. I hate sitting around doing nothing."

"Oh. So how's selling going?"

"Pretty good, actually! People really sympathize with handicapped persons like me, so I'm been able to scrounge up some good money. I'm planning on keeping the wheelchair and the cast and use their pity for all it's worth."

"You're terrible," Sora said, shaking his head.

"Hey, if I could play for that money I would, but since—"

"Get in."

"Hm?"

"Get in," the brunette repeated, unlocking the doors.

"Why?" Riku's eyes lit up. "Are we going to have angry car sex—"

"I'm getting you a guitar," Sora interrupted him, cheeks turning slightly red.

The silver-haired man was taken aback. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. That Take-A-Mommy one you wanted."

"_Takamine,_" Riku amended.

"Whatever; get in."

With a smirk, Riku rolled to the passenger seat, opened the door, got out of the wheelchair, folded it and chucked it unceremoniously inside. Then he hopped (on one foot) to the passenger door, opened it and got in.

Sora knew that he was probably yanking Riku from his newspaper duties, but apparently since he wasn't worried, the brunette decided not to worry either.

"So where can you get this Takamine guitar?" Sora asked.

"No idea," the silver-haired man said.

"You wanted me to buy you this guitar and you have no idea where to get it?"

"Other than the internet, no."

"I don't trust the internet. Wacko-identity thefts happen on there." Sora thought for a while. "What about _Melhart_?"

"Hmmm… perhaps. Or maybe they should be able to order one for us."

"_Melhart_ it is," Sora lifted his head to the car in front of him. "Oh, and it looks like traffic's finally moving."

The brunette turned on the next street and headed to _Melhart._ Within twenty minutes, they were inside the store. Both got out and the brunette walked while Riku wheeled up the ramp. Sora held open the door for the silver-haired man and they were inside.

Riku gasped when his eyes fell on a guitar case behind the counter. "There it is," he whispered, as if he had set eyes on the face of God himself.

He eagerly rolled himself in front of the guitar, laughing excitedly. Sora followed after him, shaking his head a little.

"That it?" Sora asked when he caught up with Riu.

"Yes, sweet Jesus, yes it is!" the silver-haired man pressed his palms against the glass, eyes fixated on the guitar.

"Hey, get your hands off the glass, I just polished that," came a gruff voice. Behind the counter stood an unshaven, blonde man with goggles strapped around his hand and just above his forehead. His shirt was plain white and he wore boot-cut, denim jeans. A toothpick was set between his teeth.

Just to aggravate him, Riku leaned forward and pressed his nose against the glass.

"Why you little—!" the man made a move towards him. Sora grabbed Riku by the back of the collar of his shirt and tugged him back.

"Sorry about that, Cid," the brunette said with a sheepish smile.

Riku stared up at Sora curiously. Cid stopped and looked at Sora as well.

"Sora, is that you?" The anger in his face dispersed completely. "Haven't seen you in a while!"

"Yeah, it's been a long time." Sora shrugged a little.

"I'll say. What brings you here?"

"I promise this—" he pointed to the silver-haired man in a chair, who frowned at being referred to as a 'this,' "—that I'd get him a Takamine guitar."

"That one?" Cid pointed to the guitar Riku was in front of.

"Yeah, I guess so," Sora answered.

"All right," Cid dug his thumbs underneath his belt. "I'll go get you the case. Don't steal anything, you little cripple," the blonde man added dangerously to Riku. The silver-haired man opened his mouth to say something, but Sora quickly clamped a hand over his mouth.

"I'll be watching him, Cid. Don't worry," the brunette assured him.

"Don't be shy about using force, Sora," Cid grumbled as he walked out from the counter and disappeared elsewhere into the store.

"_Must_ you continuously challenge authority, Riku?" Sora asked, looking down at him with an exasperated expression.

"You _are_ a musician!" Riku said, tossing the brunette's question aside and glancing up at him incredulously.

"I just play piano in my spare time," Sora said. "I'm a nurse by profession."

"You lied to me!"

"I never said that I didn't play piano. I just said that I didn't think I had musician's fingers."

Riku scowled, obviously angry at himself.

"So how long have you been playing piano?" the silver-haired man asked.

"I've been taking lessons here since I was three."

"So you must be pretty good. Why didn't you become a musician?"

"I stopped taking lessons when I entered the nursing program, so I'm not as good as I was before. Plus, it's just something I like to do on my free days." Sora shrugged. "I love nursing. Though, if I hadn't become a nurse I would have probably never met you… _and_ I wouldn't be spending…" the brunette looked at the price, "about four hundred dollars on a guitar…"

"Nah," Riku said, leaning back into his chair and grinning. "Even if we hadn't met in the hospital, we would've found each other another way."

"You're pretty confident."

"I believe in fate."

"Here you go," Cid said as he came back with the case in hand. He set the case on the counter, opened it, and then walked to the display case and took the guitar out. Cid came back, and gently placed the guitar in its case and then handed it Sora. The brunette held out a credit card and the blonde man took it and charged it.

"Thanks," Cid said as Sora and Riku left the store.

"See you around, Cid!" Sora called as the door closed behind them.

"Okay, now," the brunette screwed up his eyes in thought, "I'll need to take you back to that street—H-Hey!" Sora ran after Riku as the silver-haired man began wheeling away from him.

"Riku! Where are you going?"

"To play this guitar, of course," Riku said matter-of-factly. He rounded the corner and rolled a couple yards before stopping near the wall, opening the guitarcase, pulling the guitar out, and setting the case on the ground in one swift motion.

"Riku, come on, you should…" Whatever else Sora had to say died away as the silver-haired man began to play a soft, slow melody. Riku's eyes were focused on his hands, and his lips were moving; saying something that was too inaudible for Sora to hear over the music. The unhurried, gentle rhythm reverberated tenderly in the brunette's ears.

And as suddenly as the music began, it stopped. Riku dropped his hands, his silver brows furrowing together.

"That was beautiful," Sora said.

"It's not finished," the silver-haired man said sadly.

"_You _composed that?"

"Yup."

"When did you make it?"

"About eight days ago." It only took Sora moments to recognize the significance. That was... the first day Riku was admitted to the hospital.

"It's not finished," Riku repeated after a while, "but there's still plenty of room for a piano accompaniment." The silver-haired man's turquoise eyes gazed up at him in such a way Sora felt as if he had been completely winded. And out of nowhere, the brunette's face felt so hot.

"Play with me, Sora," Riku said, softly; like the guitar music he had strummed only about a minute ago. "We'll make will be brilliant, sweet melody—a love song."

"A love song, huh?" the nurse echoed.

"Exactly. A sweet love song."

A long silence fell between them. The brunette shut his eyes and thought of the tender melody Riku played. There were warm feelings in those notes. Feelings from Riku, feelings that prompted Sora to think of the musician in ways he would never consider after being with him those four strange, annoying days.

A lovely, silver laugh. A kind smile that would never hurt. Eyes that would watch only him. _  
_

If perhaps the silver-haired man's heart was truly just as gentle, if his heart could truly produce such a beautiful sound…

Sora leaned down and pressed his lips against Riku's.

"I must be crazy," the brunette muttered as he pulled away, cheeks flaming. Riku laughed a little and triumphantly began playing a fast, lively beat on his new guitar. The brunette shook his head, a smile on his lips. "Don't move your arm so fast or you'll reopen your wounds," he advised as the tempo quickened. Riku ended the music with a flourish.

"So you're going to take me home, right?" The silver-haired man asked. "I mean, you can't exactly leave your boyfriend out in the cold."

"I have no choice, do I?" Sora said, turning and walking to his car. "A Meal-On-Wheels with a nice guitar like you would probably get mugged. Come on, let's go home."

Laughing, Riku rolled after Sora. "We'll be sleeping in the same bed!" he said. "I absolutely _refuse_ the couch or any other means of sleep furniture!"

"Fine, fine, Riku. But you're getting a bath first." The brunette reached his car and fished out of his keys.

"Of course! I can't exactly make love to you while I'm dirty!" Riku said as he wheeled to the passenger side.

Sora turned red and fiddle with his car keys. "We _are not _having sex while your arm and leg are still injured, Riku," he said, looking over the carhood to the musician.

The silver-haired man folded his arms defiantly. "I doubt you'll hold out for another week or so. In case you haven't noticed, I'm exceptionally attractive."

Sora threw a skeptical glance at Riku, who in turn shook his head, causing the sunlight to reflect off his hair and scatter around him in such a way that the brunette almost fell over in awe.

All right, so Riku brought up a valid point.

* * *

**Extra Story:**

_GE: Giocoso Etude_

_This story happened… just a little bit before now…_

Riku sighed as he walked along the street, his guitar in his right hand. He had made extra money today and to celebrate his accomplishment, he was going to buy himself an ice cream cone. True, the silver-haired man _did_ realize this was a rather counterproductive way to enjoy the rare occasion, but it was hot today so he decided on ice cream.

Riku also knew that there was a Walmart just two blocks down on Jazz, but Axel had once told him that there was a really good ice cream vendor around King Street with the best Paopu Fruit flavor and so here he was.

But the street musician had wandered around the block for _ages_ now and there was no sign of the vendor.

'I guess I'll go head back to Jazz and Lily…' Riku thought, giving up. He walked down King. The street intersected Lily, so the silver-haired man could get to his usual corner from there. Riku glanced out onto the road as he walked, watching the cars go by. There was a red light behind him, so the cars had begun to slow down. One particular car on the other side of the street caught his eye. Or rather, one particular driver; a brunette, leaning back into his seat. The driver's window was down, so Riku could see him clearly.

He was beautiful. His round, royal blue eyes and soft cheeks. His golden-peach skin and unkempt spikes of hair.

A melody flowed inside of the silver-haired man's mind; strong and clear. He had never met someone who could make him create music in an instant.

He wanted to come closer that brunette in the car. Not just because he was breath-taking, but because he was someone who could make him feel this way—compose this way—in just a single glance. Surely, that had to mean something! He wanted to know the brunette in the car, talk to him at least. He had to get closer.

The streetlight turned green and the files of cars began to move.

'No, wait!' Riku thought. He walked backwards along the sidewalk, following the brunette in the car. 'Wait! Wait!' Then the street musician turned around and began jogging lightly. The brunette's car turned left, away from him.

"Hey!" Riku shouted, though he knew the brunette probably couldn't hear him. He stepped on the street--

A blaring, piercing horn overwhelmed Riku's shout. The musician barely had enough time to turn his head as a car collided into his left leg. And earsplitting crack rang in his ears and the force of the car sent Riku skidding along the street. The silver-haired man gasped and grimaced, sharp, mindnumbing pain spiking throughout his body. The world was spinning, people were shouting around him, and his leg was _throbbing throbbing throbbing_ with pain. It was broken, probably.

'Ah, how sad…' he thought, as everything began to fade to black. '…I couldn't catch him in time…'

* * *

At first, Riku honestly couldn't tell when he was conscious or not. Hours later, when he was lucid enough to think, he figured that it was because of the pain medications. But there _were_ small inflections of brain activity in which he could actually think properly (properly enough that is.)

There were voices he heard…

"_Someone call an ambulance!"_

"_His blood pressure is ninety-eight over fifty!"_

"…_Good, he's stabilized."_

And there were sounds he heard also…

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Footsteps.

Rustling… rustling of clothing.

And then finally there was a face.

"Ah, you're awake!" the brunette said. The brunette… His face brought Riku's mind into a focus as recognition swept him.

"I'm Sora Hikari," the brunette said, smiling brightly. "I'll be the nurse that's taking care of you today."

If there ever was such a thing as divine providence…

Riku's mouth twitched. The corners of his lips turned upwards into his best smile.

"Hey, Sora. Nice to meet you."

_---Owari---_

* * *

**That's it, everyone! I have finally given you all a true oneshot! It's huge and monstrous and I don't know why! I just thought to myself, this story is gonna be a gargantuan one-shot! And it is! 24 pages, people! 24! (On Microsoft Word, that is.)**

**Actually, I wasn't sure where the nurses instruct the patient on how to use crutches. So I had Sora teach Riku how to use crutches outside his room. Actually, I think that a Physical Therapist would be the one to teach people how to walk on crutches and stuff, but I was sure that nurses could do that too....  
**

**Yeah, this is a story of love at first sight people. Is it realistic? NO. Is it fun to contemplate? Yup. :)  
**

**I kinda wanted to kick myself for making Riku know Sora before Sora actually met him because it was a bit too much like my story **_**Inspector and Thief**_**, but honestly, I really love it. I really like things that circle back to the beginning. The extra story was inspired by this commercial I saw. I don't want to describe it because I don't want to use up too much space, but if you go to youtube and input: 'GE Chinese Commercial,' you should be able to find it! Look at it and think it's adorable! I COMMAND YOU! :D  
**

**This story was inspired by **_**Once**_**, the movie. The song that Riku was playing on his Takamine guitar--the song that Sora made him compose with one look--is supposed to be **_**Falling Slowly. **_**You all must listen to it! The lyrics don't really match up with this fanfic, but I love the melody!**_**  
**_

**Well, I hope you all enjoyed this fanfiction. I enjoyed writing it!  
**

**--Please review and, as always, read on all you yaoi perverts, read on!**

_**|Corrosive Moon|**_

**P.S. YOU SUCK FANFICTION(DOT)NET! THE STUPID DOCUMENT READER TOOK AWAY ALL MY PARAGRAPH SEPARATORS AND NOW I HAVE TO USE THESE UGLY LINES! FIX IT, GODDAMN YOU!**


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